(1) students construct meaning and produce knowledge, (2) students use disciplined inquiry to construct meaning, and (3) students aim their work toward production of discourse, products, and performances that have value or meaning beyond success in school.
from Newmann, Fred M. and Gary G. Wehlage. “Five Standards of Authentic Instruction.” Educational Leadership. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
*** From the Indiana University Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning:
An authentic assignment is one that requires application of what students have learned to a new situation, and that demands judgment to determine what information and skills are relevant and how they should be used. Authentic assignments often focus on messy, complex real-world situations and their accompanying constraints; they can involve a real-world audience of stakeholders or “clients” as well. According to Grant Wiggins (1998), an assignment is authentic if it
is realistic.
requires judgment and innovation.
asks the student to “do” the subject.
replicates or simulates the contexts in which adults are “tested” in the workplace or in civic or personal life.
assesses the student’s ability to efficiently and effectively use a repertoire of knowledge and skills to negotiate a complex task.
allows appropriate opportunities to rehearse, practice, consult resources, and get feedback on and refine performances and products.
All Levels Daily diary entries. I tied it into what we were learning at the time. If that didn’t lent itself to a diary entry, I gave them questions geared at getting them proficient with everyday questions and answers, like “What did you have for lunch?” “How was your weekend?” We often departed from these diary entries and turned them into opportunities for conversational practice. Here is a link from an 8th grade diary page:
Novice (6th grade, 1st year German) Dream House. Talking about where and how we live, students designed their dream house in a sketching program and then described the house using newly introduced vocabulary as well as vocabulary they had to acquire with guidance from me to describe aspects not in the unit vocabulary list.
Intermediate Low (8th grade, 3rd year German) Transition to High School. At the end of 8th grade, we study the future tense. This writing assignment looks at making plans for a successful high school transition. While there are no responses on their blogs, this assignment could and really should have responses from German students that are one year ahead.
Email to a Business. While 8th grade students were planning a trip to Germany, they had to keep track of cost. When they could not find information on the admissions fee to a museum, I suggested to them to contact the museum directly. They wrote an email in German, and they received a response! They were so excited because their German skills actually worked! I don't have the email exchange because it was a student's email address, but this is a great example of authentic writing and learning.
Advanced (Upper School) Film Critique. Students watched the German film "Men" and wrote a film critique.
MAP YOUR SUMMATIVE/HIGH STAKES WRITING TASKS
AUTHENTIC/REAL WORLD WRITING TASK DESIGN
REAL WORLD AUDIENCES
METACOGNITIVE WRITING RESOURCES
*"Real World Writing: Making Purpose and Audience Matter" by Grant Wiggins
Defining Authentic Assessment
CRITERIA:
(1) students construct meaning and produce knowledge,
(2) students use disciplined inquiry to construct meaning, and
(3) students aim their work toward production of discourse, products, and performances that have value or meaning beyond success in school.
from
Newmann, Fred M. and Gary G. Wehlage. “Five Standards of Authentic Instruction.” Educational Leadership. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
***
From the Indiana University Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning:
An authentic assignment is one that requires application of what students have learned to a new situation, and that demands judgment to determine what information and skills are relevant and how they should be used. Authentic assignments often focus on messy, complex real-world situations and their accompanying constraints; they can involve a real-world audience of stakeholders or “clients” as well. According to Grant Wiggins (1998), an assignment is authentic if it
EXAMPLES OF WRITING FOR AUTHENTIC AUDIENCES
ELA
SCIENCE
MATH
SOCIAL STUDIES/HISTORY
THEOLOGY
WORLD LANGUAGE
All Levels
Daily diary entries. I tied it into what we were learning at the time. If that didn’t lent itself to a diary entry, I gave them questions geared at getting them proficient with everyday questions and answers, like “What did you have for lunch?” “How was your weekend?” We often departed from these diary entries and turned them into opportunities for conversational practice. Here is a link from an 8th grade diary page:
Novice (6th grade, 1st year German)
Dream House. Talking about where and how we live, students designed their dream house in a sketching program and then described the house using newly introduced vocabulary as well as vocabulary they had to acquire with guidance from me to describe aspects not in the unit vocabulary list.
Intermediate Low (8th grade, 3rd year German)
Transition to High School. At the end of 8th grade, we study the future tense. This writing assignment looks at making plans for a successful high school transition. While there are no responses on their blogs, this assignment could and really should have responses from German students that are one year ahead.
Email to a Business. While 8th grade students were planning a trip to Germany, they had to keep track of cost. When they could not find information on the admissions fee to a museum, I suggested to them to contact the museum directly. They wrote an email in German, and they received a response! They were so excited because their German skills actually worked! I don't have the email exchange because it was a student's email address, but this is a great example of authentic writing and learning.
Advanced (Upper School)
Film Critique. Students watched the German film "Men" and wrote a film critique.